Images from Sandy

Significant Cleanup is an Understatement

Once the high winds and storm surge subsided, JCP&L personnel needed to do significant cleanup just to access and assess the damage at many substations, including this one in Sea Bright, New Jersey. The debris gathered in this yard includes remnants of a roof, a residential propane tank, sheets of plywood and even a football helmet.

A Navy of Boats

The extensive flooding and storm surge brought on by Hurricane Sandy resulted in a small navy of boats surrounding a JCP&L substation in Avon, New Jersey. The boats had to be removed before crews could access the site.

Pumping Gallons of Water

Working Around the Clock

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, a virtual army of PSEG employees — as well as crews called in from other areas in anticipation of the storm — worked around the clock to restore service as quickly and safely as possible.

Connecticut Light & Power

Repairing

L.E. Myers Co. (a subsidiary of MYR Group Inc.) journeymen linemen Greg “Tator” Huling and Tom Pender check on the repair sleeves they’ll need to fix a section of wire for Central Maine Power that was brought down by Hurricane Sandy along Town Landing Road in Falmouth, Maine, on Oct. 31, 2012.

Tree Crews

Thank You

During restoration, not only did customers bring coffee for workers to warm up, many simply threw their arms around them to say thanks as they arrived on their streets. PSE&G customers inundated the utility’s mailboxes with thank you messages during and after the storm. See: T&D World's Sandy Supplement...

One year ago, the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history moved ashore near New Jersey. Superstorm or Hurricane or both, it was a monster to contend with. Utilities prepared and responded, and the industry has since stepped up efforts to harden the system.

Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states. Its storm surge hit New York City on Oct. 29, 2012, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city.Damage in the United States amounted to US$65 billion.

Discuss this Gallery 3

I personally took to the field covering the rebuild after Sandy for T&D World. And I tracked the progress we’ve made at the major utilities over the past year. This is the first time in my 40 years in the industry that the impetus to invoke change is increasing, not decreasing after an event. Not even hurricane Katrina unleashed such a call to action.
Sandy hitting such a densely populated area combined with the realization that we will have bigger and more frequent storms has tipped us all over the edge:
Regulators, legislators, consumers and utilities all realize we need to act in a coordinated fashion. We simply must be better prepared for storms and to respond more quickly when storms hit. Are your experiences similar or different? Please share your thoughts!

I watched the crews from all over the U.S. rush to the aid of the Northeast utilities, but one thing I remember in particular was the thanks and the positive comments from some appreciative customers. Painted signs, home-cooked meals, and even a few hugs. It would make me so sad to see negative comments and complaints when the linemen were working so hard to try to get the power back on. And they do it because they want to help people. So many of the linemen interviewed in the Storm Soldiers movie said they had such a great feeling when they would see the lights come back on.